Similar to other U.S. hotspots, Minnesota’s recent rise in COVID-19 cases is essentially a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” driven by the more contagious delta variant.
In their first news conference in weeks, state health officials made it clear: Vaccines are highly effective, even against variants, and hesitancy to get the shot is driving up coronavirus cases.
About 68 percent of Minnesotans 16 and older have gotten at least one dose of vaccine, but rates vary significantly across the state. Generally, rural counties have lower rates of vaccination and higher rates of infection per capita.
“Some parts of Minnesota are fairly well protected, but other parts are extremely vulnerable,” said Jan Malcolm, state health commissioner. “The problem here is very much a problem of unvaccinated people getting exposed to an extremely contagious and dangerous virus.”
Malcolm and Kris Ehresmann, the director of infectious disease prevention for the Minnesota Department of Health, say more than 99 percent of new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths are people who are not vaccinated.
New infections have nearly tripled since early July and hospitalizations are up about 50 percent. Deaths, a lagging indicator of the outbreak’s severity, remain low, but serious cases have begun to trend younger.
The more contagious delta variant is believed to be responsible for 75 percent of new cases. Only about 20 percent of new infections are genetically sequenced, but evidence suggests delta cases have grown exponentially.
“The concern is this particular variant has gone from less than 1 percent of cases to over 75 percent in a matter of weeks,” Ehresmann said.
The rise in variant cases is not just of concern for those who haven’t been vaccinated, but for children under 12 who are not yet eligible. While severe cases are unlikely in children, data from states with larger outbreaks has shown delta infections can have serious impacts on young people, Ehresmann said.
It will likely be near the end of 2021 before vaccines receive emergency authorization for children 12 and younger. That means school will start this fall with much of the student population unvaccinated.
Right now it will likely be up to individual districts on how to best mitigate spread of the coronavirus in classrooms. Gov. Tim Walz’s emergency powers ended July 1, leaving him without the ability to mandate masks or other measures.
Health officials will likely provide recommendations to districts about how to best protect students, but final decisions will be up to local leaders.
The Minnesota Department of Health also has been reluctant to take a position on vaccination mandates for state workers or other employers. New York and California will mandate state employees and health workers be vaccinated, and the Mayo Clinic and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will also require workers be inoculated.
“It is something we continue to look at and talk about,” Malcolm said, who noted support for mandating vaccines for health workers. “That is certainly something we are watching with interest to see how it evolves around the country.”
DAILY OUTBREAK UPDATE
Minnesota reported three new COVID-19 deaths Monday and 424 more coronavirus infections were recorded by the state Department of Health.
The latest deaths to be reported included residents in their 40s, 50s and 80s. Two resided in private homes and one in a long-term care facility.
The death toll is 7,653 with 4,498 fatalities in long-term care since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Another 93 deaths are suspected to have been caused by COVID-19, but the person never had a positive coronavirus test.
The current seven-day average for test-positivity is 2.4 percent, roughly three times what it was in early July. It remains below the 5 percent caution threshold health officials use to determine whether the outbreak is under control.
Hospitalizations are also on the rise with 153 patients requiring care, including 39 in critical condition, as of Friday. The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized has grown by about 50 percent since early July.
Minnesota has screened 10.5 million samples from 4.5 million residents since March 2020. The overall test-positivity rate is 5.8 percent. Of the 609,810 people who tested positive, 599,709 or more than 98 percent have recovered enough they no longer need to be isolated.
More than 5.8 million doses of vaccine have been administered. There are 3.1 million residents who have received at least one dose and almost 3 million who have completed their vaccine series.
About 68.2 percent of residents 16 and older have gotten at least one shot, short of Gov. Tim Walz’s goal of having 70 percent of that population vaccinated.
